The present application is a Continuation-In-Part of application Ser. No. 10/098,741, filed Mar. 14, 2002 which is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/575,629, filed May 22, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,158, which is a Continuation-In-Part of Ser. No. 09/293,020, filed Apr. 16, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,102; application Ser. No. 09/575,629 is also a Continuation-In-Part of Ser. No. 09/426,302, filed Oct. 25, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,245; which is a Divisional of Ser. No. 08/681,730, filed Jul. 29, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,976, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The present invention relates to devices for testing an automotive vehicle. More specifically, the present invention relates to a battery charging system tester for an automotive vehicle.
Automotive vehicles include a storage battery for operating electronics in the vehicle and using an electric starter to start the vehicle engine. A battery charging system is coupled to the engine and is powered by the engine when the vehicle is running. The charging system is used to charge the storage battery when the vehicle is operating.
Many attempts have been made to test the battery of the vehicle. One technique which has been pioneered by Dr. Keith S. Champlin and Midtronics, Inc. of Burr Ridge, Ill. relates to measuring the conductance of batteries to determine their condition. This technique is described in a number of United States patents, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,911, issued Mar. 25, 1975, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,708, issued Sep. 30, 1975, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,768, issued Mar. 28, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,170, issued Apr. 25, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE SCALING; U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,038, issued Nov. 14, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE SCALING TO DETERMINE DYNAMIC CONDUCTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,416, issued Mar. 27, 1990, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH STATE-OF-CHARGE COMPENSATION; U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,269, issued Aug. 18, 1992, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC TESTER FOR ASSESSING BATTERY/CELL CAPACITY; U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,380, issued Aug. 30, 1994, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPRESSING TIME VARYING SIGNALS IN BATTERIES UNDERGOING CHARGING OR DISCHARGING; U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,136, issued Nov. 5, 1996, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH AUTOMATIC COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,355, issued Nov. 12, 1996, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTION AND CONTROL OF THERMAL RUNAWAY IN A BATTERY UNDER CHARGE; U.S. Patent No. 5,585,416, issued Dec. 10, 1996, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STEP-CHARGING BATTERIES TO OPTIMIZE CHARGE ACCEPTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,728, issued Dec. 17, 1996, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH AUTOMATIC COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,757, issued Dec. 31, 1996, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STEP-CHARGING BATTERIES TO OPTIMIZE CHARGE ACCEPTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,093, issued Jan. 7, 1997, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE LOOSE TERMINAL CONNECTION DETECTION VIA A COMPARISON CIRCUIT; U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,098, issued Jan. 28, 1997, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH VERY HIGH NOISE IMMUNITY; U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,920, issued Aug. 12, 1997, entitled METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING THE CHARGING LEAD-ACID BATTERIES AND AN INTERACTIVE CHARGER; U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,192, issued May 26, 1998, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING A BAD CELL IN A STORAGE BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 5,821,756, issued Oct. 13, 1998, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH TAILORED COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,435, issued Nov. 3, 1998, entitled BATTERY TESTER FOR JIS STANDARD; U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,605, issued Jun. 22, 1999, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,829, issued Aug. 31, 1999, entitled MIDPOINT BATTERY MONITORING; U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,238, issued Dec. 14, 1999, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPLEX IMPEDANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,751, issued Mar. 14, 2000, entitled APPARATUS FOR CHARGING BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,777, issued Mar. 14, 2000, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING BATTERY PROPERTIES FROM COMPLEX IMPEDANCE/ADMITTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,976, issued Apr. 18, 2000, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUDITING A BATTERY TEST; U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,098, issued Jun. 27, 2000, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING A BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,245, issued Jul. 18, 2000, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUDITING A BATTERY TEST; U.S. Pat. No. 6,104,167, issued Aug. 15, 2000, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING A BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,137,269, issued Oct. 24, 2000, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ELECTRONICALLY EVALUATING THE INTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,156, issued Dec. 19, 2000, entitled ELECTRICAL CONNECTION FOR ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,483, issued Jan. 9, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPLEX IMPEDANCE OF CELL AND BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,505, issued Jan. 9, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,369, issued Apr. 24, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING BATTERY PROPERTIES FROM COMPLEX IMPEDANCE/ADMITTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,808, issued May 1, 2001, entitled TEST COUNTER FOR ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,249,124, issued Jun. 19, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH INTERNAL BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,259,254, issued Jul. 10, 2001, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CARRYING OUT DIAGNOSTIC TESTS ON BATTERIES AND FOR RAPIDLY CHARGING BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,262,563, issued Jul. 17, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPLEX ADMITTANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,896, issued Sep. 25, 2001; entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING COMPLEX SELF-IMMITANCE OF A GENERAL ELECTRICAL ELEMENT; U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,897, issued Sep. 25, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ELECTRONICALLY EVALUATING THE INTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,304,087, issued Oct. 16, 2001, entitled APPARATUS FOR CALIBRATING ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,481, issued Oct. 30, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,313,607, issued Nov. 6, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EVALUATING STORED CHARGE IN AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,313,608, issued Nov. 6, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING A BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,316,914, issued Nov. 13, 2001, entitled TESTING PARALLEL STRINGS OF STORAGE BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,650, issued Nov. 27, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,793, issued Dec. 11, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING A BATTERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,762, issued Dec. 18, 2001, entitled ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,113, issued Dec. 18, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,102, issued Feb. 26, 2002, entitled AUTOMOTIVE BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,359,441, issued Mar. 19, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,303, issued Mar. 26, 2002, entitled ALTERNATOR DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM, U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,414, issued May 21, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,669, issued Jul. 9, 2002, entitled SUPPRESSING INTERFERENCE IN AC MEASUREMENTS OF CELLS, BATTERIES AND OTHER ELECTRICAL ELEMENTS; U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,158, issued Jul. 23, 2002, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CARRYING OUT DIAGNOSTIC TESTS ON BATTERIES AND FOR RAPIDLY CHARGING BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,441,585, issued Aug. 17, 2002, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TESTING RECHARGEABLE ENERGY STORAGE BATTERIES; U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,158, issued Sep. 3, 2002, entitled VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM TESTER WITH ENCODED OUTPUT; U.S. Pat. No. 6,456,045, issued Sep. 24, 2002, entitled INTEGRATED CONDUCTANCE AND LOAD TEST BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,025, issued Oct. 15, 2002, entitled ALTERNATOR TESTER; U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,026, issued Oct. 15, 2002, entitled PROGRAMMABLE CURRENT EXCITER FOR MEASURING AC IMMITTANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 09/703,270, filed Oct. 31, 2000, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 09/780,146, filed Feb. 9, 2001, entitled STORAGE BATTERY WITH INTEGRAL BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 09/816,768, filed Mar. 23, 2001, entitled MODULAR BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 09/756,638, filed Jan. 8, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING BATTERY PROPERTIES FROM COMPLEX IMPEDANCE/ADMITTANCE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/862,783, filed May 21, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING CELLS AND BATTERIES EMBEDDED IN SERIES/PARALLEL SYSTEMS; U.S. Ser. No. 09/960,117, filed Sep. 20, 2001, entitled IN-VEHICLE BATTERY MONITOR; U.S. Ser. No. 09/908,389, filed Jul. 18, 2001, entitled BATTERY CLAMP WITH INTEGRATED CIRCUIT SENSOR; U.S. Ser. No. 09/908,278, filed Jul. 18, 2001, entitled BATTERY CLAMP WITH EMBEDDED ENVIRONMENT SENSOR; U.S. Ser. No. 09/880,473, filed Jun. 13, 2001; entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/940,684, filed Aug. 27, 2001, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EVALUATING STORED CHARGE IN AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL OR BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 60/330,441, filed Oct. 17, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH RELATIVE TEST OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 60/348,479, filed Oct. 29, 2001, entitled CONCEPT FOR TESTING HIGH POWER VRLA BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 10/046,659, filed Oct. 29, 2001, entitled ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/993,468, filed Nov. 14, 2001, entitled KELVIN CONNECTOR FOR A BATTERY POST; U.S. Ser. No. 09/992,350, filed Nov. 26, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 60/341,902, filed Dec. 19, 2001, entitled BATTERY TESTER MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/042,451, filed Jan. 8, 2002, entitled BATTERY CHARGE CONTROL DEVICE, U.S. Ser. No. 10/073,378, filed Feb. 8, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS USING A CIRCUIT MODEL TO EVALUATE CELL/BATTERY PARAMETERS; U.S. Ser. No. 10/093,853, filed Mar. 7, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH NETWORK COMMUNICATION; U.S. Ser. No. 60/364,656, filed Mar. 14, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH LOW TEMPERATURE RATING DETERMINATION; U.S. Ser. No. 10/098,741, filed Mar. 14, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUDITING A BATTERY TEST; U.S. Ser. No. 10/101,543, filed Mar. 19, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,114, filed Mar. 28, 2002; U.S. Ser. No. 10/109,734, filed Mar. 28, 2002; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,105, filed Mar. 28, 2002, entitled CHARGE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,998, filed Mar. 29, 2002, entitled BATTERY TESTER WITH BATTERY REPLACEMENT OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 10/119,297, filed Apr. 9, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING CELLS AND BATTERIES EMBEDDED IN SERIES/PARALLEL SYSTEMS; U.S. Ser. No. 10/128,790, filed Apr. 22, 2002, entitled METHOD OF DISTRIBUTING JUMP-START BOOSTER PACKS; U.S. Ser. No. 60/379,281, filed May 8, 2002, entitled METHOD FOR DETERMINING BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/143,307, filed May 10, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 60/387,046, filed Jun. 7, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INCREASING THE LIFE OF A STORAGE BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 10/177,635, filed Jun. 21, 2002, entitled BATTERY CHARGER WITH BOOSTER PACK; U.S. Ser. No. 10/207,495, filed Jul. 29, 2002, entitled KELVIN CLAMP FOR ELECTRICALLY COUPLING TO A BATTERY CONTACT; U.S. Ser. No. 10/200,041, filed Jul. 19, 2002, entitled AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/217,913, filed Aug. 13, 2002, entitled, BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 60/408,542, filed Sep. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST OUTPUTS ADJUSTED BASED UPON TEMPERATURE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/246,439, filed Sep. 18, 2002, entitled BATTERY TESTER UPGRADE USING SOFTWARE KEY; U.S. Ser. No. 60/415,399, filed Oct. 2, 2002, entitled QUERY BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; and U.S. Ser. No. 10/263,473, filed Oct. 2, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH RELATIVE TEST OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 60/415,796, filed Oct. 3, 2002, entitled QUERY BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/271,342, filed Oct. 15, 2002, entitled IN-VEHICLE BATTERY MONITOR; U.S. Ser. No. 10/270,777, filed Oct. 15, 2002, entitled PROGRAMMABLE CURRENT EXCITER FOR MEASURING AC IMMITTANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,515, filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,490, filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,385, filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE, U.S. Ser. No. 60/437,255, filed Dec. 31, 2002, entitled REMAINING TIME PREDICTIONS, U.S. Ser. No. 60/437,224, filed Dec. 31, 2002, entitled DISCHARGE VOLTAGE PREDICTIONS, U.S. Ser. No. 10/349,053, filed Jan. 22, 2003, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROTECTING A BATTERY FROM OVERDISCHARGE, U.S. Ser. No. 10/388,855, filed Mar. 14, 2003, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH BATTERY FAILURE TEMPERATURE DETERMINATION, U.S. Ser. No. 10/396,550, filed Mar. 25, 2003, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 60/467,872, filed May 5, 2003, entitled METHOD FOR DETERMINING BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE, U.S. Ser. No. 60/477,082, filed Jun. 9, 2003, entitled ALTERNATOR TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 10/460,749 C382.12-0162), filed Jun. 12, 2003, entitled MODULAR BATTERY TESTER FOR SCAN TOOL, U.S. Ser. No. 10/462,323, filed Jun. 16, 2003, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER HAVING A USER INTERFACE TO CONFIGURE A PRINTER, U.S. Ser. No. 10/601,608, filed Jun. 23, 2003, entitled CABLE FOR ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 10/601,432, filed Jun. 23, 2003, entitled BATTERY TESTER CABLE WITH MEMORY, which are incorporated herein in their entirety.
With the advent of accurate battery testing, it has become apparent that in some instances the battery in the vehicle may be good, and a problem related to the battery charging system is the cause of the perceived battery failure. A vehicle charging system generally includes the battery, an alternator, a regulator and an alternator drive belt. In most modern vehicles, the regulator is built into the alternator housing and is referred to as an internal regulator. The role of the charging system is two fold. First, the alternator provides charging current for the battery. This charging current ensures that the battery remains charged while the vehicle is being driven and therefore will have sufficient capacity to subsequently start the engine. Second, the alternator provides an output current for all of the vehicle electrical loads. In general, the alternator output, the battery capacity, the starter draw and the vehicle electrical load requirements are matched to each other for optimal performance. In a properly functioning charging system, the alternator will be capable of outputting enough current to drive the vehicle electrical loads while simultaneously charging the battery. Typically, alternators range in size from 60 to 120 amps.
A number of charging system testers have been used to evaluate the performance of the vehicle charging system. These testers generally use an inductive “amp clamp.” The amp clamp is placed around a cable or wire and inductively couples to the cable or wire such that the current passing through the wire can be measured. This measurement can be made without having to disconnect the wire. In such a system, typically the operator determines the rated size of the alternator. Next, the operator connects the amp clamp to the output cable of the alternator and an electrical load such as a carbon pile load tester, is placed across the battery. This is a large resistive load capable of receiving several hundred amps which will force the alternator to provide its maximum output. The maximum output current can then be measured using the amp clamp connection. If the measured output is less than the rated output, the alternator is determined to be malfunctioning. Such a test is cumbersome as the equipment is large and difficult to handle. Further, it is difficult, particularly with compact engines, to reach the alternator output cable. Further, in some cases, the amp clamp may not fit around the output cable. It is also very easy to place the amp clamp around the wrong cable causing a false test.
Another testing technique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,611, which issued Jun. 10, 1980 and is entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CALIBRATED TESTING OF A VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. The device described in this reference monitors voltage changes present at the cigarette lighter of an automotive vehicle in order to determine the condition of the alternator by applying internal loads such as head lamps and blowers, while the engine is running.